As wireless networks evolve and grow, there are ongoing challenges associated with reaching targeted coverage levels. Recently, in an effort to boost coverage and enhance throughput in wireless networks, network operators have proposed deployment of wireless devices capable of transmitting at a maximum allowable transmit power that is higher than a current maximum allowable transmit power of off-the-shelf wireless devices and/or other currently deployed low power wireless devices. When portion(s) of the wireless network experience high load (e.g., loading above a threshold), which may stem from large amounts of data traffic and/or poor channel conditions, access node(s) may collect power headroom and other data from the wireless devices; access nodes use the collected data to schedule (or assign) uplink (UL) and/or downlink (DL) wireless resources (i.e., wireless resource grant) for connected wireless devices. Due to disparities in power headroom data reported at the access node(s) by wireless devices, scheduler(s) of the access node(s) often choose high power wireless devices for UL wireless resource grant(s) compared to (or over) off-the-shelf wireless devices and/or other deployed low power wireless devices with similar power state(s) and/or radio frequency (RF) condition(s). Accordingly, a channel-aware system that schedules UL wireless resources, while balancing network load, such that high power wireless devices are not unduly chosen for resource grant(s) over off-the-shelf or other deployed wireless devices is desirable.